Software Process and Measurement Cast

The interview on Show 64 is with Carol Smith.  We discussed the usability.  Usability is a critical component of human facing software.  We discussed the definition of usability, techniques for discovering usability, how to measure it and finally how to test usability.  A powerful interview with a great guest!  Carol is a regular presenter at conferences, has taught usability courses at the college level and has managed a usability department. She is also the Treasurer and Director of Chapters for the Usability Professionals' Association (UPA) Board of Directors. Carol has a Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction and has over eight years of usability experience. Carol Smith conducts experience research for clients that are both large and small, government and corporate, in a variety of industries through her company, Midwest Research, LLC. Carol takes the time to understand user's needs and behaviors and then creates tools that convey this information in an easy to understand format. Organizations can then integrate users needs and behaviors directly into their development projects.Contact information:Twitter:  carologicWebsite:     http://www.mw-research.com/Tell a friend about the Software Process and Measurement Cast and show them how to subscribe.  Let me know and I will acknowledge you on the next show!  The essay is the conclusion of “Using Functional Metrics in Agile Estimation”.  The essay explains how to integrate the discipline of functional metrics into agile metrics techniques.  Remember that parts one, two and three were included in SPaMCAST 61, 62 and 63.Join the SPaMCAST’s community by joining the SPaMCAST Facebook page and get involved!!!!  http://tinyurl.com/62z5elThere are a number of ways to share your thoughts with SPaMCAST: •    Email SPaMCAST at spamcastinfo@gmail.com•    Voice messages can be left at 1-206-888-6111•    Twitter – www.twitter.com/tcagley•    BLOG – www.tcagley.wordpress.com•    FACEBOOK!!!! Software Process and Measurement               http://tinyurl.com/62z5elUpcoming Speaking Engagements ITMPI webinarProcess Improvement in a Multi-Model World September 15, 2009 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time Model based process improvement typically has centered on a single model or framework as the lynch pin to control software process improvement within an organization. The use of a model or framework is an excellent means of reducing random activity unfortunately one model does not cover the whole organization. Process improvement has matured to a point where the span of control needs to be extended which suggests the use of more than one model (e.g. CMMI, ISO, ITIL and Business Process Re-engineering to name a few). This webinar with Tom Cagley will discuss how to manage process improvement in a complex, multi-model environment. More information - http://solutions.compaid.com/forms/WebinarB20090915?ProcessType=PreRegISMA 4 ConferenceBoundaries, Boundaries EverywhereSeptember 15, 2009 9:00 - 9:45 AM          Identifying applications and project boundaries are critical to accurate and repeatable counts however the rules have a lot of flexibility. The presentation will evaluate a variety of types of applications to evaluate the impact of varied perspectives on application boundaries. The presentation will include at least one hands-on exercise to drive home the impact of boundariesThe ISMA conference will be held this September 13-16, 2009 at the Palmer House Hilton – Chicago, IllinoisMore informaton - http://www.IFPUG.org    Next Software Process and Measurement Cast: The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature an interview with Laura Brandau.  We discussed the role of business analysts including the definition of the role, typical interfaces, benefits and impacts of actually having business analysts and of course how to measure the impact.  Many organizations have Business Analysts those that make the role work focus

The interview on Show 63 is with Paul Byrnes.  We discussed the CMMI, Multiple Models and Process Improvement.  In today’s financial environment it is important to know what drives good change and whether disparate models work well and play well together.  This was one of the basic threads of our conversation.As an Air Force officer Paul was responsible for managing advanced software technology transition projects at Hanscom AFB, MA. These were typically joint government/industry funded projects aimed at significantly improving the efficiency of DoD software development processes and services. At the SEI, Paul was the SEI CMM® Based Appraisal (CBA) Project Leader. Responsible for developing all published versions of SCE and the initial CBA IPI method (V0.3). A principal developer of the CMM® Appraisal Framework (CAF). Developed, delivered, and managed teams delivering CMM based appraisal methods and training services.At ISD, as a founder, principal, Managing Director, and CTO, Paul was the principal architect of ISD’s Comprehensive Appraisal Method (CAM); a draft version was an input method to SCAMPISM V1.1. He was responsible for managing, leading development, and also delivering all standard ISD products for their appraisal, consulting, and training service lines.Paul is a currently a member of the SCAMPI LA BoK Advisory Board and a member of its High Maturity Working Group. He is currently participating on the Enterprise SPICE Architecture Team and the SCAMPI V1.3 Upgrade Team. Paul was included in the 1995 Who’s Who in the East, the 1998 Who’s Who in Media and Communications, the 1999 Who’s Who in America, and the 2000 Who’s Who in the World.Contact information:Email:  pdbyrnes@isd-inc.comWebsite:     http://isd-inc.comTell a friend about the Software Process and Measurement Cast and show them how to subscribe.  Let me know and I will acknowledge you on the next show!  The essay is titled “Using Functional Metrics in Agile Estimation Part 3”.  The essay explains how to integrate the discipline of functional metrics into agile metrics techniques.  Remember that parts one and two were included in SPaMCAST 61 and 62.Join the SPaMCAST’s community by joining the SPaMCAST Facebook page and get involved!!!!  http://tinyurl.com/62z5elThere are a number of ways to share your thoughts with SPaMCAST: •    Email SPaMCAST at spamcastinfo@gmail.com•    Voice messages can be left at 1-206-888-6111•    Twitter – www.twitter.com/tcagley•    BLOG – www.tcagley.wordpress.com•    FACEBOOK!!!! Software Process and Measurement               http://tinyurl.com/62z5elNext Software Process and Measurement Cast: The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature an interview with Carol Smith on the topic of usability.  We discussed the definition of usability, how recognize it, test it and measure it.  If you develop anything usability ought to be a central part of your practice.

The interview on Show 62 is with Tom Graves.  We discussed enterprise architecture.  Enterprise architecture is more than an IT phenomenon, architecture defines the enterprise.  This was a great interview.Tom Graves has been an independent consultant for almost three decades, in business transformation, enterprise architecture and knowledge management. Based in Britain, His clients in Europe, Australia and the USA cover a broad range of industries including banking, utilities, logistics, engineering, media, telecoms, research, defence and government. He has a special interest in architecture for non-IT-centric enterprises, and integration between IT-based and non-IT-based services.Contact information:Email:        tom@tetradian.comWebsite:     http://weblog.tomgraves.org/                 http://www.tetradian.com/HomePage                 http://www.tomgraves.org/HomePageTell a friend about the Software Process and Measurement Cast and show them how to subscribe.  Let me know and I will acknowledge you on the next show!  The essay is titled part 2 of my essay “Using Functional Metrics in Agile Estimation”.  The essay explains how to integrate the discipline of functional metrics into agile metrics techniques.Join the SPaMCAST’s community by joining the SPaMCAST Facebook page and get involved!!!!  http://tinyurl.com/62z5elThere are a number of ways to share your thoughts with SPaMCAST: •    Email SPaMCAST at spamcastinfo@gmail.com•    Voice messages can be left at 1-206-888-6111•    Twitter – www.twitter.com/tcagley•    BLOG – www.tcagley.wordpress.com•    FACEBOOK!!!! Software Process and Measurement               http://tinyurl.com/62z5elNext Software Process and Measurement Cast: The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature an interview with Paul Byrnes of ISD.  We discussed how the CMMI and process improvement fit in today’s economic environment.

Show 61 concludes a two part interview with Phil Stubbington.  We discussed how to fix troubled projects.  The interview chocked full of useful ideas for dealing with issues that if not taken care of that could be career limiting.Phil is a 42 year old highly reliable and trustworthy PROGRAMME DIRECTOR / MANAGER with an exceptional delivery track record.  His most recent experience gained at DHL, EXEL, DELL, ORANGE BUSINESS SERVICES and RANK XEROX.Phil is very much a self starter, he is a constant improver with a strong client/customer centred approach who over delivers to measurably world class performance levels.He excels as a troubleshooter, he is a charismatic and motivational leader with great communication skills, is flexible, very approachable and says it “as it is”.  Equally comfortable and successful dealing with clients and team members at all levels including CxOs.Contact information:Email: philip.stubbington@ntlworld.comWebsite: http://www.twygrove.net/Tell a friend about the Software Process and Measurement Cast and show them how to subscribe.  Let me know and I will acknowledge you on the next show!  The essay is titled “Using Functional Metrics in Agile Estimation, Part 1".  In the essay we begin exploring how to synthesize different methodologies and frameworks to create a process that is better than the sum of its parts and get better estimates to boot. Join the SPaMCAST’s community by joining the SPaMCAST Facebook page and get involved!!!!  http://tinyurl.com/62z5elThere are a number of ways to share your thoughts with SPaMCAST: •    Email SPaMCAST at spamcastinfo@gmail.com•    Voice messages can be left at 1-206-888-6111•    Twitter – www.twitter.com/tcagley•    BLOG – www.tcagley.wordpress.com•    FACEBOOK!!!! Software Process and Measurement               http://tinyurl.com/62z5elNext Software Process and Measurement Cast: The next Software Process and Measurement Cast is an interview with Tom Graves.  We discussed architecture and how architecture affects every part of the organization.  Very powerful stuff.

Show 60 is the interview I had with Medha Umarji discussing her research on Metrics Acceptance Model.  If you are involved with software measurement programs this is important stuff! I know I have already begun using some of the concepts.  I am doing this as one large interview rather than in two parts.  I would like your input on this format.Medha Umarji is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Information Systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her focus is on the human aspects of software engineering, and she has had the opportunity to observe, survey and interview developers as they searched for source code, or communicated with their remote teams, or voiced their opinions about organizational initiatives. As she makes plans to graduate this summer, she is motivated by the idea of making a difference in the life of people in the trenches. During the course of her career she has worked at prestigious firms like Microsoft Research, ABB Corporate Research, and SuccessFactors Inc.Her other research interests are in studying how distributed organizations seek information and share knowledge, how domain-specific communities of practice interact and learn, and how developers leverage documentation and human sources of information in their programming tasks. Medha has published her research at several highly reputed conferences such as the International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement, the Software Engineering Process Group Conference, and the International Conference on Open Source Software and Systems. Contact InformationEmail: umarji@gmail.comWebsite: http://metricsacceptance.netThe essay is titled “Involvement versus Focus”.  I discussed the fact focus is important but not sufficient to affect change in todays IT environment.Join the SPaMCAST’s community by joining the SPaMCAST Facebook page and get involved!!!!  http://tinyurl.com/62z5elThere are a number of ways to share your thoughts with SPaMCAST: •    Email SPaMCAST at spamcastinfo@gmail.com•    Voice messages can be left at 1-206-888-6111•    Twitter – www.twitter.com/tcagley•    BLOG – www.tcagley.wordpress.com•    FACEBOOK!!!! Software Process and Measurement               http://tinyurl.com/62z5elNext Software Process and Measurement Cast: The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will complete the interview I had with Phil Stubbington on how to help fix troubled projects.  If you are project manager this one ought to be mandatory!

Show 59 begins a two part interview with Phil Stubbington.  We discussed how to fix troubled projects.  The interview chocked full of useful ideas for dealing with issues that if not taken care of that could be career limiting.Phil is a 42 year old highly reliable and trustworthy PROGRAMME DIRECTOR / MANAGER with an exceptional delivery track record.  His most recent experience gained at DHL, EXEL, DELL, ORANGE BUSINESS SERVICES and RANK XEROX.Phil is very much a self starter, he is a constant improver with a strong client/customer centred approach who over delivers to measurably world class performance levels.He excels as a troubleshooter, he is a charismatic and motivational leader with great communication skills, is flexible, very approachable and says it “as it is”.  Equally comfortable and successful dealing with clients and team members at all levels including CxOs.Contact information:Email: philip.stubbington@ntlworld.comWebsite: http://www.twygrove.net/Tell a friend about the Software Process and Measurement Cast and show them how to subscribe.  Let me know and I will acknowledge you on the next show!  The essay is titled “Models, Models Everywhere”.  The proliferation of models, tools and frameworks leaves me asking the question what is the goal you are attempting to achieve with your particular witches brew or models you are using? If you don’t know, you should.Join the SPaMCAST’s community by joining the SPaMCAST Facebook page and get involved!!!!  http://tinyurl.com/62z5elThere are a number of ways to share your thoughts with SPaMCAST: •    Email SPaMCAST at spamcastinfo@gmail.com•    Voice messages can be left at 1-206-888-6111•    Twitter – www.twitter.com/tcagley•    BLOG – www.tcagley.wordpress.com•    FACEBOOK!!!! Software Process and Measurement               http://tinyurl.com/62z5elNext Software Process and Measurement Cast: The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will begin an interview with Medha Umarji.  We discussed her work on gauging metrics acceptance using a Metrics Acceptance Model she developed. Medha is a PhD candidate in the Dept. of Information Systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Show 58 features an interview with Thomas “cmdln” Gideon.  To paraphrase the walrus from Lewis Carrol’s Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There 'it was time to talk of many things: of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings.”  It was a wonderful interview with the promise of more.Thomas Gideon, also known by his nickname, “cmdln” has been programming professionally for over a decade and hacking around with computers of many varieties for most of his life. I would suggest that not only is cmdln a technologist but a philosopher as he has meta-interests beyond just the technology itself.These include the history of computing and hacker culture. Programming requires a very particular way of seeing problems and solutions. Secondly is an interest in how computing technology is actually changing our society, for good or ill. He suggests that computer technology is definitely changing the way we do the things we already do while enabling wholly new things. Cmdln blogs his thoughts and findings at the site, “The Command Line.”   He also has a regular podcast discussing not only these issues, but episodes and aspects of the practice and profession of programming. And I quote “Not to mention any other stories or ideas related to technology that I find equally fascinating.”Contact information:Email: feedback [at] thecommandline [dot] netWebsite: Tell a friend about the Software Process and Measurement Cast and show them how to subscribe.  Let me know and I will acknowledge you on the next show!  The essay is short (12 words) and talks about relevance and irrelevance.  Here too more promised in the futureJoin the SPaMCAST’s community by joining the SPaMCAST Facebook page and get involved!!!!  http://tinyurl.com/62z5elThere are a number of ways to share your thoughts with SPaMCAST: •    Email SPaMCAST at spamcastinfo@gmail.com•    Voice messages can be left at 1-206-888-6111•    Twitter – •    BLOG – •    FACEBOOK!!!! Software Process and Measurement               Next Software Process and Measurement Cast: The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature an interview Phil Stubbington.  We talked about fixing trobuled projects.  The tactics Phil suggests are useful even if you never have a trouble project on your hands.

Show 57 features an interview with Joe Schofield.  We discussed the Function  Points and Lines of Code and other topics.  Size is an important attribute for managing software projects.  How you measure counts!Joe has been active in the application of emerging technology for business and engineering solutions at Sandia National Labs since receiving his MS/MIS from the University of Arizona in 1980. As a member of the technical staff, he has been involved in the specification, selection, and application of software methodologies; served on a corporate-wide software quality improvement team, and facilitated teams in their quest for new business processes and customer-driven software. Since 1990, Joe has developed and taught IS courses in the MBA program at the College of Santa Fe. In 1990 he received his CQA accreditation, therafter his CFPS and CSMS. After speaking at USE, SHARE, GUIDE, and DOE-sponsored conferences, Joe delivered a keynote address at the Structured Development Forum in San Francisco in 1988. Subsequently he spoke on CASE at the National Conference on Information Systems Quality Assurance, and at CASEWorld in Los Angeles. Articles on CASE were then published by the Journal of Quality Data Processing and System Builder including "Considering CASE: Write the Fine Print." The publishers of System Development approached Joe to author an article for them; "CASE Users Bill of Rights" resulted. This effort was followed with three more thus far: "CASE: Not a Joke, Now a Threat", "The Next Silver Bullet" in 1995 and then "The Year 2000 - Finally a Reality Check" which was one of the first articles to downplay the hysteria on Y2K and warn of the impending consulting infestation. More recently his articles (4) have been published in CrossTalk, journal of software engineering, and cited by the NIST. Joe frequently presents at the annual IFPUG, now ISMA conferences, and SPIN. In 2007, he was elected to the IFPUG Board of Directors. Contact information:Email: jrschof@sandia.govWebsite:  http://joescho.home.comcast.net/~joescho/3/j/mybio.htmTell a friend about the Software Process and Measurement Cast and show them how to subscribe.  Let me know and I will acknowledge you on the next show!  The essay is titled “Multitasking Yourself Away From Efficiency”.  Efficiency is an important topic in most IT organizations and continues to become more important to help yourself and your organization.  Multitasking is not the way to get there.Join the SPaMCAST’s community by joining the SPaMCAST Facebook page and get involved!!!!  http://tinyurl.com/62z5elThere are a number of ways to share your thoughts with SPaMCAST: •    Email SPaMCAST at spamcastinfo@gmail.com•    Voice messages can be left at 1-206-888-6111•    Twitter – www.twitter.com/tcagley•    BLOG – www.tcagley.wordpress.com•    FACEBOOK!!!! Software Process and Measurement               http://tinyurl.com/62z5elNext Software Process and Measurement Cast: The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature an interview Thomas "Command Line" Gideon.  We talked about his inner chapters, philosophy and other interesting things!

Show 56 features an interview with Bill Phifer of EDS, an HP Company.  We discussed the importance of measurement and metrics in sourcing arrangements.Bill Phifer is a Fellow at EDS, an HP Company, with responsibility for enterprise strategies related to quality standards and models for the Global Quality and Service Excellence group. He is a Software Engineering Institute (SEI) authorized Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Lead Appraiser with over 33 years in IT including 16 years in software process implementation and improvement, measurement, and project management. Bill is also a Lead Evaluator for Carnegie Mellon University’s eSourcing Capability Model for Service Providers (eSCM-SP) with an interest in sourcing best practices. This includes a focus on game theory and balancing the needs of customers and service providers with relationship management. He is a regular presenter at IT industry conferences and seminars such as SEI’s SEPG, itSMF USA Fusion, and IEEE. Bill is currently concentrating on end-to-end IT lifecycle process integration between applications and infrastructure using multiple models and standards such as CMMI, ITIL, eSCM, ISO 9000, ISO 27001 and CObIT. Along with this, he is researching approaches and methods for multi-model diagnostics and appraisals.Contact information:Email: bill.phifer@verizon.netPhone: (610) 232-5203Tell a friend about the Software Process and Measurement Cast and show them how to subscribe.  Let me know and I will acknowledge you on the next show!  The essay is titled “Interested or Interesting?”  I recently heard the suggestion that it was more important to focus on being interested rather than being interesting in the essay we explore why.Join the SPaMCAST’s community by joining the SPaMCAST Facebook page and get involved!!!!  http://tinyurl.com/62z5elThere are a number of ways to share your thoughts with SPaMCAST: •    Email SPaMCAST at spamcastinfo@gmail.com•    Voice messages can be left at 1-206-888-6111•    Twitter – www.twitter.com/tcagley•    BLOG – www.tcagley.wordpress.com•    FACEBOOK!!!! Software Process and Measurement               http://tinyurl.com/62z5elNext Software Process and Measurement Cast: The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature an interview Joe Schofield.  We discussed software sizing.  Size and how you get to size really does matter.

Show 55 features an interview with Judy Bond focused on how people’s personality can affect all of your professional relationships.  Almost all work boils down to people and how you relate to others therefore getting better at it is important.Judy Bond is founder and President of Bond Team, Inc., a speaking and training company affiliated with Personality Insights, Atlanta, Georgia.  Judy has been presenting business seminars and workshops for over ten years.   Judy’s business background includes senior level management experience in information technology management for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City.Judy has a bachelor’s degree from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, and an MBA from DeVry University, Keller Graduate School of Management.  Judy's commitment is to effectively communicate management and leadership techniques using personality resources.Judy can be contacted at: Judy.Bond@bondteaminc.comwww.bondteaminc.com(816) 536-8839Join the SPaMCAST’s community by joining the SPaMCAST Facebook page and get involved!!!!  http://tinyurl.com/62z5elThe essay is a metacast on the health of the Software Process and Measurement Cast.  In a nutshell it is good. The text of the whole essay can be found at www.tcagley.wordpress.com.There are a number of ways to share your thoughts with SPaMCAST: •    Email SPaMCAST at spamcastinfo@gmail.com•    Voice messages can be left at 1-206-888-6111•    Twitter – www.twitter.com/tcagley•    BLOG – www.tcagley.wordpress.com•    FACEBOOK!!!! Software Process and Measurement               http://tinyurl.com/62z5elNext Software Process and Measurement Cast: The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature an interview Bill Phifer.  We discussed metrics in outsourcing.  I redid this interview to improve the overall sound quality.  Great interview both times. As I mentioned in SPaMCAST 52 my father has begun to podcast his fiction at www.talesbytom.com.  Yours truly is doing the production.  Feel free to check it out and give him feedback.Show 55 features an interview with Judy Bond focused on how people’s personality can affect all of your professional relationships.  Almost all work boils down to people and how you relate to others therefore getting better at it is important.